Des Browne: As with any military operation, those forces assigned to operations in Afghanistan are subject to periodic rotation. Preparations for the next such rotation are underway now. These build on the progress we have made in Helmand in the six months since 10 July 2006 when I informed the House of our current deployments in Afghanistan. Our military effort is a part of the United Nations' authorised and NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF).
	The UK will handover command of the ISAF on 4 February 2007 and the Command Group of the Allied Rapid Reaction Corps, will then return to their base at Rheindalen. In their place, the UK will provide some 140 personnel for the new ISAF Headquarters now forming in Kabul, leading to an overall reduction of the UK presence in the city of around 500 troops.
	In the South, 3 Commando Brigade, Royal Marines, will complete their tour in April 2007. They will be replaced by units drawn principally from 12 Mechanised Brigade. We have also decided to maintain until April 2009 some capabilities already deployed, including the Harrier GR7/GR9s, the Apache Attack Helicopters, Viking all-terrain vehicles, and Royal Engineers to support reconstruction activities. By the late summer, personnel numbers in Southern Afghanistan should settle at around 5,800.
	The principal units to deploy are: the Brigade Headquarters and its Signal Squadron, the Light Dragoons, the 1st Battalion The Grenadier Guards, the 1st Battalion The Royal Anglian Regiment, The 1st Battalion The Worcestershire and Sherwood Foresters, 26 Engineer Regiment Royal Engineers, 19 Regiment Royal Artillery, 2 Signal Regiment Royal Signals, 4 Logistic Support Regiment Royal Logistic Corps, and 4 General Support Medical Regiment Royal Army Medical Corps.
	Elements of other units are also deploying to provide niche capabilities. These include: the Armoured Support Group of the Royal Marines, the Light Dragoons, the Second Royal Tank Regiment; 3 Regiment, Army Air Corps; 9 Regiment, Army Air Corps; 1 (Fighter), IV (Army Co-Operation), 18, 24, 27, 30, 47 and 70 Squadrons of the Royal Air Force, 3, 5 and 7 Force Protection Wing Headquarters, Royal Air Force, and 2, 51 and 15 Squadrons of the Royal Air Force Regiment.
	As with previous deployments to Afghanistan, there will be a requirement to deploy reservists to serve in theatre. Current plans indicate that around 600 Call Out Notices are to be served on individual reservists in order to fill approximately 420 posts (including nine Sponsored Reserve).
	All military operations are subject to regular review. Work on the balance of NATO's commitment in Afghanistan is underway and I intend to discuss this with my NATO colleagues when we next meet on 8-9 February. I shall keep the House informed of progress and any implications for the UK's own force structures.

Jim Knight: On Monday 8 January, my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Education and Skills, laid before Parliament the new school admissions code in draft form for 40 days as required by section 85 of the School Standards and Framework Act 1998.
	This statement brings to the attention of the House the correction slip which has been issued in respect of the penultimate sentence of paragraph 3 of the Introduction (page 7). This currently states that:
	"This code has been made following a consultation under section 85(2) of the School Standards and Framework Act 1998, as provided by section 40(9) of the Education and Inspections Act 2006, and has been approved by Parliament as required under section 85(3) of the 1998 Act."
	This statement is inaccurate in relation to its description of the prescribed Parliamentary procedure as the draft code in fact attracts the negativeprocedure. The sentence as corrected should state:
	"This code has been made following a consultation under section 85(2) of the School Standards and Framework Act 1998, as provided by section 40(9) of the Education and Inspections Act 2006, and has been laid before each House of Parliament as provided by section 85(3) of the 1998 Act."
	The Government apologise for the error. The timing of this new school admissions code is crucial. Admission authorities for all schools must complete consultation on their proposed admission arrangements by 1 March, and make a final determination of what these arrangements will be by 15 April in the calendar year before the academic year in which they will apply. The new code must therefore be in force before 1 March 2007 if it is to apply to admissions in September 2008. The Government consider that it would be unacceptable for the unfair practices and criteria that will be prohibited by this new school admissions code to be permitted for another year. As the school admissions code must be issued in the form of the draft, my Department has therefore issued a correction slip to the draft currently laid before both Houses which I have placed in the House Libraries.
	If neither House resolves to reject the code (as corrected), I intend to bring it into force on 28 February 2007. It first affects school admission arrangements currently being determined for entry in the 2008 academic year. The code sets out a strong framework for setting fair and equitable admission arrangements and prohibits the use of unfair criteria so that no child is disadvantage compared to another in admissions.

Tony McNulty: As the House is aware, the Government have been negotiating bilateral international instruments on deportation with assurances (DWA) with a number of countries in North Africa and the Middle East. To date Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) have been signed with Jordan (10 August 2005), Libya (18 October 2005) and Lebanon (23 December 2005). We have reached agreement on separate arrangements with Algeria.
	These MoUs on DWA provide a framework for assurances to be sought to facilitate the deportation of foreign nationals that pose a threat to the national security of the United Kingdom to their countries of origin in accordance with internationally accepted standards, in particular Article 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights (prohibition of torture or inhuman or degrading treatment).
	Monitoring is one element of these arrangements aimed at providing effective safeguards against ill treatment of those being returned. Monitoring bodies have already been appointed in respect of returns to Jordan and Libya under the MoUs agreed with those countries. I am now pleased to inform the House of the appointment of the Institute of Human Rights (IHR) as the monitoring body in relation to returns to Lebanon. The contract for this appointment was signed on Friday 5 January 2007.
	The Institute for Human Rights is a non-governmental body within the independent Beirut Bar Association. The IHR has experience in the monitoring of human rights and we believe that it will carry out its monitoring role under the MoU fully and robustly. We have offered the IHR capacity building support as it prepares for its role as monitor.